Unocal Tank Farm (site)

USA / California / Pismo Beach /
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The Union Oil Company of California maintained a petroleum tank farm on the bluffs since 1906.
Oil tankers docked at a nearby pier and transfer raw crude or refined product through pipelines that ran directly under the town.
Unocal and Avila Beach's 300 residents coexisted peacefully until 1946 when lightning struck the tank farm, causing it to exploded and send a river of burning oil into nearby waterways.
In 1977, the basement of a downtown cafe exploded. The cause was traced to gasoline fumes, although no further investigation was conducted.
In 1989, digging in connection with a downtown project first revealed the soil contamination; property values plummeted.

This is now owned by Chevron.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unocal_Corporation
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Coordinates:   35°10'39"N   120°43'32"W
This article was last modified 12 years ago